1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to door locks and more particularly to sliding door locks.
2. State of the Art
Sliding doors commonly have two portions or panels. The first panel is fixed within the sliding door frame and the second panel is parallel to the first panel and slides along a sliding door track to allow for opening and closing of the door. Conventionally, sliding doors have a latch or hook which engage a portion of the frame to lock the sliding door in a closed position. The latch is often weak and not effective at preventing the opening of the door when larger forces are applied to the door to disengage the latch.
Conventional locking device employed to the reinforce the locking of sliding doors include bolts that engaged the frame and the sliding panel and rods or bars placed within the sliding door track. These conventional devices have their limitations.
Bolts are often mounted to the frame and require modifying or mounting a separate bracket and or drilling a hole within the frame. When the bolt is engaged, the bolt prevents the sliding panel from sliding, thereby locking the sliding door. The mounting of such a lock has its limitations, such as having to modify the existing frame to mount the lock. Further, in cases of emergency or the need for quick egress, it is difficult to disengage the lock quickly. Additionally, this type of bolt lock often is often damaged and creates difficulty in engaging and disengaging the lock.
Rods and bars are often sized to the particular door and placed within the bottom of the sliding door track. This prevents the door from sliding open. These too have limitations including the speed of egress, in such instances such as fire or other need for quick egress.
Accordingly, there is a need in the field of sliding door locks for an improved sliding door lock.